Bubblegum is not Jealous and Other Lies
by Hatsu Yukiya
Summary: "Jealous?" "Shut up..." Okay, maybe she is. Just a little. But Marceline was the last person who should have figured that out!


"Jealous?"

"Shut up..."

Okay, maybe she was, just a little. But not because she wanted to have a relationship with Finn! Princess Bubblegum shook her head adamantly, glaring at Jake and his infuriatingly smug smirk. "What are you staring at? I'm not jealous!"

"Okay Princess, whatever you say," he snorted. "I'm gonna go talk to the lovebirds." With that, the dog strode away, leaving Bubblegum with her mixed thoughts. Her gaze turned to Finn and Flame Princess, who were each checking to make sure the other was alright after falling to the center of the earth. As she watched, Finn pocketed the small rock he had used for their indirect kiss, his face flushed red with embarrassment. Or it could just be red from the burns, Bubblegum couldn't tell. The boy said something, and Flame Princess giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

Bubblegum felt something twinge in her chest and hurriedly stifled it. She was not jealous! Finn had stabilized Flame Princess, and that was good. If they knew the dangers of their relationship now, then there was less of a chance of this sort of incident happening again. They could be happy, and she was happy with that.

Right?

With a heavy sigh, Bubblegum turned and began to head back to the Candy Kingdom, leaving the scene of the near-apocalypse behind. The fact that Finn said absolutely nothing to her did not escape the princess' notice.

**xXx**

It was amazing. The world had come so close to ending, and the only people who knew of the event could be counted on one hand. The citizens of the Candy Kingdom were going about their regular business when Bubblegum arrived back home, and they all greeted her cheerfully. She smiled back as best she could, but hurried to her castle as quickly as possible.

Bubblegum took a deep breath when she reached her room, suddenly feeling exhausted. Everything was normal now. She could continue on like this whole thing had never happened, and Finn could continue on being happy with Flame Princess and doing what he always did: running around and being a hero. Nothing would be different, even if someone else was occupying more of his attention. So why couldn't she get rid of the heavy feeling in her chest?

The princess groaned and flopped onto her bed. This was ridiculous. She had a kingdom to run; she couldn't get caught up in emotions she didn't understand. Because she didn't understand it. Bubblegum knew full well that she had already firmly rebuffed Finn's previous affections towards her. They were childish and silly. She should be glad that he'd found someone to make him happy, whether that someone was dangerous and potentially evil or not.

She should be happy. But she wasn't, and she couldn't figure out why. The worst part was, she couldn't tell anyone what she was feeling. There was nobody Bubblegum could relate to, nobody who knew what she might be—

"'Sup, Bonnibel?"

Bubblegum shrieked and nearly fell off her bed as she scrambled to locate the source of the voice. Melodic laughter drifted form the open window, and she turned to see the last person she wanted in her room at this moment.

"Jeez Bonnie, looking a little down in the dumps," Marceline snickered. "Someone finally break your heart? Never seen you all frazzled like this."

"Hardly," Bubblegum replied coolly, regaining her composure. "What are you doing here, Marceline? It's broad daylight."

The vampire shrugged, leaning casually against the window frame and adjusting the wide brim of her sunhat. "Not much. I just saw you storm in here like the world was on fire and was wondering what was up."

"The world was very nearly on fire earlier, not that it's any of your business," Bubblegum muttered, turning away from the window. This peaked Marceline's attention and she floated inside, not even waiting for an invitation.

"World on fire, huh? I wanna hear more about this," she grinned, showing off her sharp, pearly-white teeth.

"It's no concern of yours," Bubblegum snapped. "Please leave."

"Oh, come on, Bonnibel. I thought we buried the hatchet and all those negative feels after the Door Lord incident. I just wanna know what's going on in your pretty pink head."

Bubblegum whirled around, hands on her hips. "Why are you so incorrigible?"

"For the fun of it." Marceline rolled her eyes as if the answer was obvious. The princess snorted and turned away, shaking her head.

"You're impossible. Please leave."

"You said that twice."

"And I mean it both times."

Marceline shrugged again. "Whatever. Hey, you hear about Finn's new girlfriend? Everyone in Ooo is freaking out about it." She snorted. "Not like it's a big deal."

Bubblegum's shoulders tightened and her hands curled into fists.

It only took the Vampire Queen a split second to notice, make the connection, and burst out laughing.

"Oh my Glob!" she roared, tears springing to her eyes as she clutched her sides. "_That's_ what's got your panties in a knot! You're totally jealous of Finn's GF!"

"I am not!" Bubblegum insisted loudly. "Why does everyone keep supposing I am?!"

Marceline wiped mirth from her eyes. "You can say what you want, Bonnie, I can tell you're practically green with envy. Wanna know how I know?"

Bubblegum grit her teeth and said, voice straining with impatience, "How?"

The vampire's crimson eyes were suddenly inches from her own. "You're used to having Finn all to yourself. Your own personal hero, who did everything for you. You don't like the fact that this was taken away from you."

Bubblegum's mouth opened, maybe to deny, maybe to retort, before she snapped it closed again, the words dying in her throat.

Marceline was right. And she knew it.

There was no way the princess was going to admit that, of course. "You're wrong. I'm against the relationship because Flame Princess is unstable. She and Finn being together endanger all of Ooo."

"That's not all. Look, Finn's not totally stupid. After what happened today—whatever _did_ happen—he'll know not to make the same mistake twice."

"I'm not sure I can believe that, for the sake of my people."

"See, you say that, and you're being honest," Marceline replied softly. "The moral part of you requires you to think that way. But the other half, that's the one I'm looking at. You don't want Finn to pay attention to anyone but you. You want him to adore you mindlessly and never ask for the same consideration. It's never crossed your mind that he would want anything more."

Bubblegum remained silent for a long moment. Then, "Did you really come all this way because you were bored? Or did you just want to say all these things to me?"

Marceline leaned in close, baring her mischievous, sharp-toothed smile. "That's completely up to interpretation, princess. But just remember I never leave my friends hanging when I think they need help."

"Does that include me?"

"Maybe."


End file.
